LG HT953TV review

Love or loath the design, this package delivers on so many fronts it deserves serious consideration
Tested at £600.00

Our Verdict

Love or loath the design, this package delivers on so many fronts it deserves serious consideration

For

Awesome arsenal of features

decent balance to the sound

solid picture performance

Against

It’s a beast of a package

Look carefully at the HT953TV. Notice anything familiar? Does the gloss-black, chrome finish of the speakers and glowing ring of the DVD receiver ring any bells? Well they're all design cues taken from LG's Scarlet range of LCD TVs.

Spend the best part of thirty minutes unboxing and setting-up the HT953TV and it's apparent that you're getting a heck of a lot for your money. Just feast your eyes on those monstrous tall-boy speakers. Each one is 125cm high and has its very own chrome-covered stand.

The DVD receiver has a matching stand too. So, make sure you can accommodate all this kit before you take the plunge!

If you're willing to turf out furniture and/or family members to clear enough room to for this system, we think you'll be impressed. LG has blessed it numerous features and connectivity options.

Video upscaling via HDMI to 1080pThe slot-loading DVD receiver has a neat touch-sensitive fascia, and it can upscale DVDs over HDMI to the tune of 1080p. There's also a HDMI input, so you can connect an additional source, be it a Blu-ray player or set-top-box.

iPod owners are also catered for with a 30PIN iPod socket: you can hook up your favourite ‘Pod (including the latest nano) and control your music either through the player itself or via the system's remote control and on-screen-display.

But it's not just the feature count that's worthy of praise. The performance is equally impressive, the speakers sounding relatively smooth and detailed. Unlike some of the poorer systems that we've cone across, the LG remains remarkably composed in the treble, never sounding bright or hard.

Plenty of bass power from the subThe centre speaker picks out detail in dialogue, while the subwoofer delivers a decent hit in the lower frequencies. There's enough heft and power to make you feel the explosive impact of Iron Man's weaponry.

Picture quality is up to a fine standard too. The LG dishes out a relatively clean, unadulterated image and it handles movement without any off-putting judder.

It does a great job of rendering the sharp edges of Iron Man's suit and maintaining its natural red and yellow colouring.

Even if you don't already own one of LG's Scarlet TVs you should still give this system a chance. It's a striking and successful combination of style and substance.